Description: The Public Ministry of Defense of the City of Buenos Aires (MPD) is an autonomous institution belonging to the Judicial Branch of the City of Buenos Aires whose function is to guarantee the legitimate and inviolable right to defense, as well as to ensure free access to justice. Its highest authority is the General Defender of the City, currently represented by Dr. Horacio Corti, who is appointed by the Head of Government with the agreement of two thirds of the total members of the Buenos Aires Legislature. It is composed of twenty-four Public Defender’s Offices for First Instance Criminal, Misdemeanor and Contraventional Jurisdictions, six Public Defender’s Offices for First Instance Contentious-Administrative and Tax Jurisdictions, four Public Defender’s Offices before the Chambers of Appeal -two for each Jurisdiction- and two Deputy Public Defender’s Offices -one for each Jurisdiction- that defend or represent the inhabitants of Buenos Aires before the different judicial courts.

Mission: To guarantee universal and free access to justice, within the framework of strict respect for human rights. Listen to and accompany excluded communities (because of their economic and social segregation, but also because they are migrants, because of their gender, because of illness, etc) in their process of autonomy and demand for rights. It is not only a question of offering a legal service, but, much more profoundly, of collaborating in the processes of creating popular citizenship, of consciously developing collective action, of disseminating legal knowledge and a constitutional culture, of accessing state institutions, whether administrative or judicial.

Outreach: Local

Right to the City Components:

  • 1. No discrimination
  • 2. Gender Equality
  • 3. Inclusive citizenship
  • 4. Enhanced Political Participation
  • 5. Fulfilled social functions
  • 6. Quality Public Spaces and Services
  • 7. Inclusive and diverse economies

 

Working Groups:

  • Advocacy
  • Rsearch and Training
  • Communication
  • Regional groups
  • Gender

Webpage: https://www.mpdefensa.gob.ar/

Facebook: @MPDefensaCaba

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MPDCABA

Instagram: @MPDCABA